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HELSINKI : Shipboard Memorial

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A shipboard memorial service will be held Saturday off the Finnish island of Uto for the at least 885 people who died when the luxury ferry Estonia sank in the Baltic Sea in September. The Estonia capsized when its 56-ton bow door ripped off in a storm, allowing water to enter the ferry’s huge car deck and destabilize the ship.

Relatives of the Estonia victims--most of whom were Swedish--have been calling for the entire wreck to be raised from the seabed off southern Finland. Hundreds of victims’ bodies are entombed within the wreck, and the relatives want to give them burials on land.

Meanwhile, the Finnish government has ordered the bow doors of similar ships cruising the Baltic welded shut, at least until the Estonia case is closed.

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